One Year Old Today!

Mrs. Loudshoes is a year old today! (The blog, not the person. A one-year old has no business having a blog.) Many thanks to everyone who has been so supportive, encouraging and nice about my endeavors, it has been very much appreciated. And thank you to everyone who has read my words and come back for more....it shows you are not just being polite. Much obliged!

Today was the first day of school around here. Thankfully, it has been entirely without drama, unlike last year, and both girls are very happy with their situations. Thing 2 has two very lovely teachers this year, and although her best friends are not in the same class as her, she's friendly enough with the ones she's in with.

Thing 1 started high school this year, and she seems to have approached this new phase with equanimity. (A drama queen she is not, thank goodness.) The powers that be seem to have become much, much more sympathetic to the new Grade 9 students, and made the introduction to high school considerably less nerve-wracking than when I went. Back then, I got put on a bus and told "good luck, hope you make it home", or some such thing. They've done away with initiations and hazings, which were barbaric in the extreme. ("Hey! Lets take a bunch of socially inept bullies and give them free reign to terrorize the innocent, defenceless new kids! It'll be fun!") Thing 1 was able to meet her whole home room class last week at a picnic, where she discovered that 18 out of the 28 kids were from her old elementary school. Then she got a tour of the school so that she could find her classes today. One of her best friend's brother gave them the "real" tour of the school, which was mighty valuable....where to sit in the cafeteria, where the emos hang out and how not to look too much like a niner. Today she said she only got lost once, and managed to sit with someone she knew at lunch, and in the proper area.

I? I had a day more or less to myself. I picked up the drycleaning, which I had forgotten for about three weeks. (I don't know how many times I had had the "where on earth are those khaki capris???" conversation with myself.) I went to the library. (We have an excellent library system, and we are truly blessed to have it.) and I went to the liquor store to return the unopened booze from the party. Isn't that an amazing system? You buy more than you think you need, and you can bring back what you didn't use. Awesome. I must say, I brought back one bottle of coconut rum, which is possibly an even more lethal substance than tequila. It certainly qualifies as one of Satan's Toys.

And with a house free of coconut rum, we are off to a good start.